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Using the USPTO Against Itself

Posted by timothy on from the wife-beating-machine dept.

fidget42 writes: "This article in the LA Times tells of how a scientist went about using the patent office as a mechanism for trying to force a change in that office's rules. To quote from the article: 'Nearly 10 years ago, a friend called Stuart Newman with an intriguing challenge: Could he think up a new form of life that would be scientifically useful and possible to patent--yet so disturbing that the public would recoil?' Could the same be done with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) concerning software patents? I know some companies have used the rules of the USPTO to 'spoof' it, most notably Despair, Inc.'s trademarking of the frowney."

1 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Just don't swing sideways.... by 3seas · · Score: 1, Redundant

    For such an organization to grant a patent on swinging sideways only goes to prove that it's strength as an organization to deal out property rights is to be questioned and certainly having lessor weight of respect.

    A patent doesn't grant insured protection and as such it'd be interesting to see how they are losing their ability to grant paperwork having value.

    What's the rate of challenging patents of worth challenging in court?

    Seems to me the court system is where IP rights get enforced or not, not the patent offices of the world.